Falling, or tripping?
by ChaoticMindMess
Summary: It's another year at Hogwarts, and things begin to change for Mira Black (OC, Sirius Blacks younger sister). She meets new people, falls in love, everything's great; but is everything great, or will there be some conflict preventing her from happiness? Will her past be an impossible obstacle?
1. The beginning

"Ready for another dull, boring year at Hogwarts?" Mira Black said, slipping into a compartment with Lily Evans, and Marlene McKinnon. Marlene snorted, rolling her eyes at Mira. "Honestly, Mira, you're as bad as your brother sometimes; school isn't that much of a painful experience, surely?"

"Believe me, I am /nothing/ like my brother." She muttered, pushing her trunk onto the shelf above their seats. Mira was one year younger than her brother, Sirius Black, and happened to be Regulus' twin- although, when they were in school, her and Sirius had nothing to do with Regulus. In fact, he may as well be a stranger. She pushed her long, black hair impatiently out of her face, sitting own opposite the pair. She smiled at them both, her light blue/grey eyes sparkling. "So, who's going first?"

"I'll go." Lily sighed, not looking her usual, chirpy self. "Petunia got engaged this summer, to that awful man… she's the definition of bridezilla."

Mira pulled a face of sympathy, and Marlene sighed. "You knew it was going to happen, Lily… has she really been that bad?"

Lily shook her head "Worse. She keeps making me feel so… inadequate. Saying I'll never amount to anything, or get married or-"

They were interrupted by the compartment door slamming open, and a loud, familiar arrogant voice. "I'll happily do the honours, Evans-"

Mira exchanged an amused glance with Marlene, watching the pair begin their first argument of the year; already.

"Get out Potter." Lily snapped, standing up. James merely laughed at her, sitting down beside Mira. "Alright, mini Sirius?"

Mira's look of amusement turned to ice, glaring at James. "I wish you wouldn't call me that; I'm nothing like him, the only thing we happen to have in common is blood."

"She's right… I don't think Sirius quite has the sense or the wisdom Mira does." Remus Lupin chuckled, joining the group. Mira let her eyes flicker to him for a moment, flashing a quick grateful smile.

Remus was the only sensible Marauder; it was a known fact, and it remained a mystery why he hung around with James, Sirius and Peter. James and Sirius were the obvious leaders, the troublemakers, the show offs. Peter was their loyal follower, who's job was to worship the ground they walked on. But Remus? Mira only assumed that he was the brains of the group, helping out here and there with pranks, to make them successful.

He smiled back at her, before smiling at the rest of the group. "Good summers?"

"The best." Marlene grinned happily "though, not all of us had a particularly good time…" She glanced at Lily sympathetically, which did not go missed by James.

"Everything alright?" He asked her, his brow creasing in concern. Lily shrugged "It's fine, really. I'm just glad to be back at school."

Everybody else murmured in agreement, and everybody started chattering. Remus and James got onto a topic of something, and Lily, Mira and Marlene did too. Marlene leant in, whispering to Mira. "Don't think we didn't see that."

Mira raised an eyebrow, confused. "Huh?"

Lily giggled, glancing over to Remus. "I think you /know/ what we're talking about."

She followed Lily's gaze, catching on. "Oh please. He's one of my brothers best friends!"

"But you fancy him."

"No."

"Yes, you do."

"I do /not/ fancy him!"

"What's this?" A loud voice interrupted, that belonged to Sirius Black. He waltzed in, fashionably late, sitting down beside James. "You better not be fancying anyone-"

"I'm allowed boyfriends, Sirius." Mira groaned; her brother had the tendency to be over protective. Lets just say that her last boyfriend didn't come out of their relationship in such a healthy condition.

"Not ones that are going to treat you like rubbish, Mira!" He protested, earning a slap on the arm by Marlene. "Leave her be! So what if she fancies someone?"

"Which I don't." Mira interjected, glaring at Marlene and Lily. They both laughed, ignoring Sirius' whines as he rubbed his left arm.

"So, looking forward to 6th year, Mira? Still can't believe that someone related to Sirius was made prefect." James grinned. Mira chuckled "I'm really looking forward to it."

"Like I'd want to be a /prefect/, having to do patrols and being responsible…" Sirius rolled his eyes, making Remus laugh. "Ignore them Mira, being a prefect is a wonderful opportunity, and an honour."

"Maybe you two could do patrols together. I'm sure Lily could arrange that, being head girl." Marlene smirked, earning a warning glare from Mira. Remus, seeming oblivious to this, nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great!"

Sirius nodded in agreement too. "Good. I don't want her having patrols with some git who'd hit on her-"

"Oh please." Mira snapped, folding her arms. The boys laughed, and the girls just rolled their eyes. The rest of the journey ran fairly smoothly, everyone caught up, had a laugh and a joke, until they finally arrived at Hogwarts. They all walked into the Great Hall together, sitting down at the Gryffindor table, watching the sorting. Mira found her eyes straying over all of her friends, smiling fondly at them. Remus looked her way just as she looked his, catching his eye; her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away. Now, what was all that about?


	2. The buzz

"Wake up!"

"Go way."

"You'll miss breakfast; and what does 'go way' mean?"

"Go. Away."

"Come on Mira! You need to collect your timetable."

Mira groaned, eventually sitting up in bed and groggily rubbing her eyes- it was safe to say that she was /not/ a morning person. She looked over at the girl that had woken her up, Claire Mosley. Unfortunately, being the year below, she did not get to share a dorm with Lily and Marlene, but she was lucky to get along with her dorm mates.

*BANG BANG BANG* "Will you hurry up? You've been in there 20 minutes!"

Well, most of them. Mira was sure that Anna Moy, the girl currently banging on the bathroom door, was sorted into the wrong house.

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!" The girl in the bathroom shouted back, swinging open the door. "I told you that curry last night was a mistake-"

"Don't be pathetic!" Anna snapped, pushing her way into the bathroom. Mira grinned at Kayla Scott, who happened to share a hatred for Anna.

So there was Mira, Anna, Kayla and Claire. All four girls were really quite different to each other; for example, Claire happened to be a very restrained person. She was wary, timid, shy, but also incredibly intelligent. Her appearance matched her personality; her hair was mousy brown, her eyes a pale green colour, and she wore quite neat clothes, squeaky clean 24/7. She could tumble out of bed and still look as prise as a pin.

Kayla on the other hand, was the complete opposite to Claire. She was unorganised, messy, not the brightest button on the shirt: but she /was/ the most courageous in the dorm. She'd sneak out later than allowed, she was impulsive, daring, strong. But more often than not, she payed the consequences for her rash decisions.

And Anna? Well, she was just everything that Mira despised. She was /very/ girly, loud, outgoing, popular, she liked to sing (and she liked to think she was good at it), and she considered herself a higher rank than everybody else. Typical Anna, really. Oh, and she was the stereotype you're all probably imagining. Tall, long blonde hair, blue eyes, a slim figure. Mira thought her to resemble a stick insect, really.

Mira wasn't your typical, perfect girl. She wasn't particularly talented in anything, she wasn't the most popular girl; but she did stand out. Not in the way Anna did, but she stood out unintentionally. She was confident, but only when she wanted to be. A lot of the time, she'd keep herself to herself, and that's precisely how she liked things to be. She had long black hair, and light blue/grey eyes. She wasn't very tall, but an average 5'5. She wasn't exceptionally smart, but she was smart enough to pass in all of her lessons. Life at home was tough, but it always had been. She had Sirius, so nothing else mattered. No complications, no problems, nothing. It made her wonder how most girls would sit there and cry over a boy for hours on end; how could one boy be that special?

Mira got changed, washed and dressed, walking down to the Great Hall with her dorm mates, and taking her usual seat beside Lily, opposite Marlene. They all greeted each other, and Lily enthusiastically passed Mira a piece of parchment, with patrols written on a timetable.

"I sorted them out last night; early, I know, but I just wanted to get organised." She beamed, eyes flickering to Marlene. Marlene laughed, rolling her eyes, and nudged Mira. "So, who did Lily put you on with?"

She looked down at the parchment, and let out an annoyed noise. "Hilarious."

"Oh come on! You're still denying-"

"I'm denying nothing! He's my brothers friend, end of story!"

"I think you two suit." Marlene smirked, eating her cereal. "What's not to like? C'mon Mira, he's a good guy."

"Remus is lovely, yes. But… it's just not right okay?" Mira sighed; the only boyfriends she had ever had were in 4th year and 5th year; both of which were scared away by Sirius. "And do you really think Sirius would be pleased about that?"

"Sirius? Don't use him as an excuse, we all know you don't listen to him." Lily chuckled, storing her timetable away in her bag. Mira laughed, eating some toast. "True."

"Speak of the devil…" Marlene trailed off, winking at Mira. She glanced up, seeing Remus, James and Sirius walking there way. She suddenly felt very hot around the neck- probably because of Lily and Marlene's accusations.

"Alright everyone?" Sirius boomed, sitting down on Marlene's left side, carelessly slinging an arm around her. She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't remove his arm. "You're in an unnaturally good mood for the first day back."

"Yeah well, that's because James and I…"

The rest of his sentence was a blur. It was only a brush, a small touch, but that's all it took. Mira felt as if she had ran a marathon, because her heart wouldn't stop pounding. The heat in her neck hadn't cooled down, but only traveled up to her cheeks.

Remus apologised, after accidentally bumping into Mira whilst picking up the butter.


	3. She likes who?

(Hey guys, please review and tell me if you think that the story's moving too fast or too slow; I want you guys to enjoy it! Any feedback is accepted and appreciated).

"Mira, wait up!"

She spun around, startled- though, she wasn't so sure why it startled her. It was only Remus.

"What time do we start our patrols? I know we're first on tonight, but I'm not quite sure what time."

"7pm" She smiled, suddenly wishing she had something more interesting to say. "I er… are patrols fun?" Fun? Fun?! She mentally kicked herself for asking possibly the most stupid question ever.

"Depends who you're patrolling with. I'm sure it'll be a pleasure." He smiled, walking alongside her. "All you do is walk around for a couple of hours, make sure no one's hiding in the broom closets; easy."

She nodded, her heart thumping- what if it got awkward and they had nothing to talk about? "I must admit, I'm pretty nervous- no doubt I'll find my idiot brother sneaking about." She frowned, making Remus laugh.

"Believe me, it's more likely than not- you heading off to dinner? I'll join you if you are."

Mira had just eaten, but she couldn't seem to say no. "N-no. Haven't eaten yet, I'm starving."

"Great- you can warn Sirius to keep out of trouble" He chuckled, pushing open a door for her.

"Like he'd ever listen to me, he doesn't even listen to the teachers."

"True, very true." He opened the Great Hall doors, and they both walked through to the table to join the others.

"So what've you two been up to?" Marlene asked slowly, smirking. Mira narrowed her eyes at her, and Remus, seeming oblivious to the tone, answered: "Just discussing patrols for tonight, it's Mira's first one."

Sirius snorted, turning his voice to a voice of mockery: "Oh look at me, Miss perfect priss prefect- OUCH!"

"You deserved that." Marlene giggled, and Sirius frowned. "She slapped me!"

"Glad it hurt." Mira muttered, piling up her plate. Marlene looked at her oddly, frowning.

"Mira, didn't you just eat?"

She froze; she had told Remus she hadn't eaten so she wouldn't have to turn down his offer.

"I er- no."

"Yes you did, we just saw you; you must be stuffed!"

"Nope, I- I've been /really/ hungry today" She gabbled, though, her stomach was extremely sore.

"Didn't you say you hadn't eaten?" Remus inquired, picking up his own fork.

Well, fudge.

"I mean to say I /felt/ like I hadn't eaten. I'm really quite hungry."

"Whatever you say." Marlene smirked, earning a questioning look from Sirius. He murmured into Marlene's ear "tell me later", and got up to go and meet James and Peter.

"So, what was all that about with Mira?" Sirius asked, pulling his girlfriend in a close embrace.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, really…" Marlene trailed off, knowing Sirius probably wouldn't take it so well.

"Yes it does" He kissed her neck, knowing it'd weaken her. "You can say…"

She sighed, tilting her head back slightly "I… we think Mira has a little crush."

Sirius froze, frowning slightly. "Well, on who?"

"Look, she hasn't even /said/ she fancies him. We just think she-"

"Marlene please, tell me."

"Remus…"

"REMUS?" He repeated loudly, letting go of her. "How could he do this to me?!"

"Hey!" She exclaimed "he hasn't done anything- he doesn't even /know/ about this!"

"O-oh" He stuttered, calming down slightly "Why do you think Mira fancies him then?"

"Have you not seen the way she acts around him? She goes pink and smiley; it's quite cute, actually."

He groaned, burying his face in his hands "They can't ever be together, Marl…"

She raised an eyebrow "If this is about his furry little problem…"

"That's /exactly/ what it's about!" He snapped, standing up properly now. "If she gets too close to him, she could be in danger! I can't have her knowing about it, she'll want to help- Marlene, I don't even like /you/ knowing about it! I just don't want Mira growing attached to him, okay? It's just a crush… right?"

"I understand what you're saying, Sirius. But if she /does/ like him, and he likes her back… what can we do? Look what happened to Romeo and Juliet when they were kept apart!"

"Oh come on, Remus is no Romeo!" He replied, thinking of how awkward and shy Remus got around girls he liked.

"Still! Just let things happen the way they happen, okay?"

Sirius stood there silently for a moment, before shaking his head, laughing in spite of himself "It's unlikely anyway. I… lets not talk about this, okay?"

"Okay" She sighed, pulling him back into a hug.


	4. Patrols

(To everybody reading this, I'd just like to thank you so much for the reviews/favourites/follows. It really does mean a lot, and it motivates me to write more chapters for you all. I was a bit worried this story would be a flop, because not many people are fond of the idea of Sirius having a little sister, especially an OC. But I'm very glad that so many have you have warmed to Mira, because I love writing all about her; she's my first and only OC, and please feel free to review with anything you think can be improved, I take constructive criticism on board with open arms. Enough of my blabbing, on with the story!)

(This chapter is going to be from Remus' point of view!)

Remus Lupin sat down in the Gryffindor common room, having decided to wait for Mira before they started their patrols together. It was her first time, and he did feel rather sorry for the poor girl- he knew how he had felt on /his/ first patrol! He heard footsteps and turned to smile, but it was Sirius. "Hey Sirius" He greeted, as Sirius took a seat beside him. Sirius gave him a somewhat stained smile, and turned to face him. "Hey… listen, can I have a quick word before you go?"

"Of course" Remus nodded, wondering what it could be "Everything okay?"

"Sort of… listen, Marlene brought something to my attention earlier on. Something that I think is very possible."

"Go on…"

"We think Mira has a crush on you."

He stared at Sirius blankly, before creasing his brow in confusion "You think she has a crush on… me? Oh come on Sirius, you and I both know that's not true…"

"Thinking about it, I believe it could be. You seen the way she acts around you?"

"I can't say I've noticed…" He murmured "I mean, why would she fancy me? I'm a boring old prefect. I'm sure it's not true Sirius."

"Yeah? Well, just in case it is… don't encourage it, alright? Nothing against you, but I… you /know/ why."

He felt his heart sink, and nodded slowly. He hated his awful 'condition', he hated having to endanger people. Sometimes, he almost felt as if it were his fault. "I understand. You know I wouldn't anyway… she's your little sister."

He nodded, slapping him on the back "Cheers mate, knew I could count on you."

Just at that moment, Mira walked down the stairs, smiling brightly at the pair. "Ready, Remus?"

"Y-yeah." He stammered, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. What if Sirius was right? "Lets go" He gabbled, nodding at Sirius, and leaving the common room with Mira.

The tension eased throughout the night, and Remus actually found himself enjoying himself. He had never really spent time alone with Mira properly, but she was funny, and a lot more like Sirius than he thought. He even forgot all about his chat with Sirius for a while, smiling down at the girl. "I'm really glad I got to patrol with you, Remus…" She smiled, fiddling with the end of her hair. "You're so much nicer than most people."

He swallowed, suddenly remembering… she /did/ look a bit pink. Was Sirius right?

"I'm glad too… I'm surprised we didn't find Sirius in a cupboard with Marlene" He chuckled. Mira simply grimaced "Gross! I hope I /never/ have to see that!" He laughed again, and it fell silent for the first time throughout the entire patrol- but it wasn't an awkward silence, almost a comfortable one. He found himself stealing glances at her, his brain going into overdrive. Everything she did seemed to be graceful and elegant, even the way she laughed… it made him feel kind of warm inside, happy. Why was he noticing these things now? Was it because Sirius had put it on his mind?

Mira turned to him and smiled, but these was a trace of nervousness on her face "Remus? How many girlfriends have you ever had?"

He felt his heart thud at this, and he flushed with shame- he was 17, and he hadn't even /had/ a girlfriend yet. Though, he had a perfectly valid reason, which he wasn't allowed to share. "I haven't."

"You haven't?" She repeated, stunned. "Seriously?"

"Just haven't found the right girl" He shrugged- he thought she probably thought he was sad, or some kind of socially awkward reject.

"That's surprising. I think you're wonderful." She replied, not quite meeting his gaze.

He cleared his throat, feeling /very/ uncomfortable by this point. He forced a smile, looking at her "Thank you. And what about you?"

"I've had two… both scared away by Sirius" She rolled her eyes, but shrugged "They were awful anyway. I don't want a boy, I want a gentleman."

He chuckled at this "Look at you, all grown up."

He noticed her frown at this. "I'm not a child."

"I never implied that you were."

"Yes you did… I'm only one year younger than you. Remember that." She mumbled, and he smiled fondly at her "I'll keep it in mind."

It fell silent again for a few moments, before Mira asked her next question. "What's your ideal girl like?"

Okay, she definitely had a crush on him. Why else all the questions? He thought for a moment- what /was/ his ideal girl? He had never really bothered thinking about it, convinced he'd never have a proper chance to have 'true love'.

"Well, I suppose she'd have to be funny- a relationship isn't a proper relationship with no humour." He began, watching the portrait at the end of the corridor that they walked down. "Friendly. She'd have to get along with my friends… smart to a certain degree; though, I expect no Merlin" He chuckled, making Mira smile "And it'd be nice if she was pretty too. I don't mean that in a shallow way, but physical attraction is important too."

He saw Mira think this over thoughtfully, before flashing him a smile "Well, she sounds lovely."

"Yes, I suppose she would be."

Mira was actually quite pretty, but not in an obvious sort of way. She wasn't the mainstream kind of pretty, with big boobs, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was shortish, her eyes weren't bright blue, but subtle grey, her hair was wild and unpredictable; very much like her personality, he thought. Thinking about all these features, they were actually quite attractive, and they suited her.

He shook his head as he walked up to his dorm after wishing her goodnight, trying to shake himself of these thoughts. But what was wrong with thinking she was pretty? Lots of girls were pretty, but it didn't /mean/ anything. He got ready for bed and flopped down in his bed, thankful the others were already asleep. He didn't feel up for questions, and her certainly had no intentions on giving answers. Not truthful ones, anyway.

When he woke up this morning, she was Sirius' little sister, nothing more. But going to sleep now… well, he couldn't say he was thinking about her in quite the same way anymore.


	5. Regulus

"Its happened. The impossibles happened…" James murmured, stunned. He slowly sat down on the sofa in the common room that evening, staring wide eyed into the fire. Remus and Sirius, being the only other occupants in the room, glanced at each other worriedly.

"Er… mate? Is everything okay?" Sirius asked cautiously, as Remus took a seat on the big sofa by James.

"You've gone awfully pale. Do you need a nurse?" Remus added, glancing over at Sirius. James merely shook his head, not ripping his eyes away from the fire. "I… she…"

"Ah, 'she'. This can only mean Lily. Who is it this time?" Remus put a careful hand on James' back, his mouth forming a tight, straight line on his face. When James was in this kind of state, it normally meant Lily had another date, or even a new boyfriend; this kind of thing had /never/ gone down well.

"Me."

Remus blinked, staring at James. He looked sharply at Sirius, who appeared to be equally as shocked. "Wait, what?" He exclaimed, his voice louder. James looked up to him, beginning to grin. "Me. She said yes… and I didn't even have to bribe her! SHE SAID YES! We've got a date tomorrow night, and… shit, what do I do? I can't take a girl like Lily to the /pub/!" He exclaimed, his grin disappearing as quickly as it came. "Where do you take a girl like Lily?!"

"Prongs mate- calm down!" Sirius told him, leaning forwards. "First of all; you sure she said yes?"

"Positive."

"Secondly, do /not/ take her to the pub." Remus frowned, and Sirius chuckled. "Every girl likes a pint, Moony."

"Not Lily, she's special, right James?"

"Right."

"So, do something special for her. You want it to be romantic, yeah?"

"Of course. I need her to /love/ this."

"So, do something different. Stand out."

James cocked an eyebrow, looking at Remus. "For someone who's never had a girlfriend, you're quite good at all this romance stuff. Must be all those novels you read."

Remus laughed in response, "Possibly; but I'm not really one for romance books, I quite prefer adventure-"

"Okay, okay! Ladies, if you want to start a book club, I'll be off." Sirius rolled his eyes, standing up. "I need to go meet Marlene; I'll find out more about Lily for you, yeah?" He told James, shoving his hands in his pockets. James nodded, beaming enthusiastically. "Thanks mate. See you later."

* * *

"What made her change her mind? I thought James was having us on." Sirius replied in disbelief, stroking Marlene's hair, who currently had her head in his lap whilst they lay by the black lake. She shrugged, her eyes flickering open as she looked up at him. "She's been thinking about saying yes for a while. She says James has changed… he doesn't bully Snape anymore, he's more mature, ego appears to have deflated a bit. I suppose she's starting to like him."

Sirius nodded, looking down at her, still fiddling with her blonde hair. "Wow. Well, tonight's going to be fun, dealing with a nervous wreck that is James Potter."

She laughed, sitting up to kiss him. "He'll be okay, as long as he plays his cards right."

He grinned, kissing her back, putting a hand on the back of her neck as he let his lips linger against hers for a while. He straightened up slightly, stretching. "You seen Mira around? I need to speak to her about something. Or is she already on patrols?"

Marlene checked her watch, "She has an hour till she goes on patrols. She's probably eating in the Great Hall at the moment."

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her again. "You coming?"

"I need to return a book to the library, but I'll see you later?"

"Alright. See you in a bit." He smiled, getting up and offering a hand to help her up too.

* * *

"He did what?" Mira whispered, her hand over her mouth. Sirius had taken her to an empty corridor outside the Great Hall, whispering urgently to her.

"I know- it came as a shock to me too. I mean, I always knew he was rotten, but this…"

"I can't believe he's gone ahead and done it." She felt her eyes well up slightly, but quickly blinked them back; Mira Black /never/ cried. Well, not in public, anyway.

Their brother, Regulus, had joined up. Officially. He had even got the dark mark to prove it. Sirius had overheard it from some of Regulus' friends in the year below, whispering it like it was something to be proud of.

"I know, I know… but we knew it was coming, didn't we? C'mon Mira, he isn't our family, okay? We've got each other, which means we don't need any of those morons, okay?"

She nodded, hastily wiping her eyes. "Okay."

"Come here." He muttered, his heart breaking a bit, just seeing her so upset. He pulled her into a tight hug, "Me and you, we don't need anyone else. No one. Now, forget about all this, yeah? Go and get yourself ready for your patrol; I know I take the piss, but I'm so proud of you, you know that?"

She smiled up at him weakly, swallowing away the lump in her throat. "Thank you, Sirius."


End file.
